The Top 13 Goals of 2013

What is a great hockey goal? Do you just know it when you see it? Is it contingent on the quality of the competition involved? Should it play a significant role in the game, or the season?

Merriam-Webster defines a goal as "something that you are trying to do or achieve." I define a great goal as the actual act of shooting the puck, during the action of a game, and having the red light flash despite the odds against it happening. So on this list you will find no great assists on tap-in goals, no video game-esque shootout goals, and no penalty shots. This list is just the year's 13 best individual efforts in getting the biscuit into the basket.

Personally, I think this goal is more Preds blooper than Datsyuk highlight, but people love it. In the genre of Nashville's Kevin Klein getting posterized, this goal makes a good case to bump Datsyuk off the list.